//------------------------------//
// Chapter 24: Power Source 
// Story: Sisters of Willowbrook 
// by Starscribe 
//------------------------------//

Iris wasn't waiting for her arrival back in the manor, of course. But when the steward headed off for important business, he left Risk to tend to Derek's needs. He held the door open for her, something she probably needed with such an elaborate dress restraining her. He didn't say anything to her until his father was well out of earshot down the hall.

"Only unicorns can do some magic," he said nervously. "But there's more kinds of magic out there than just making things float. Willowbrook is full of all kinds of magic things. Maybe you could use some of them."

She rounded on him. She definitely wasn't crying when she spoke. Her voice didn't crack, and she wasn't shaking in the stupid dress. "Why do you care?"

He twitched. "You do."

She glared back, but couldn't bring herself to argue. "Do you know anything about it? Somewhere I could go for... magic? Maybe I could get some. Where I come from, nobody has any on their own. You have to find a source, and collect it carefully to use in your spells."

"Maybe," he admitted. "Lots of places we're not supposed to go. Some of them have stories about magic. But you shouldn't go alone, they're dangerous. Places even old ponies don't go."

"I wouldn't go alone, I've got a friend who would wanna come..." That clearly wasn't the response he was looking for, though. "And you could come too!"

Very little happened the remainder of that day, except for one important conversation with Iris. They only spoke before evening, long enough for Derek to ask about having her friend visit.

The unicorn seemed to instantly realize who she wanted to see. "Now that you're attending Whispering Willow together, I see no reason why not," she said. "Before that, ponies might've asked awkward questions about how you would know each other."

"Didn't we arrive at the same time?" Derek asked nervously. "Don't they already know?"

At least they didn't keep her wearing that stupid dress all day. Now that she was home, Derek wore nothing at all. They still didn't have the boy stuff she would've wanted to wear, so she just didn't bother. Even the lady of the house didn't dress up most of the time.

She still had to wear bandages over the burns, though they'd gone from padding changed every few hours to a simple wrap they switched out only when she bathed.

"No," Iris explained. "Willowbrook at large knows nothing about your origin. Neither our family nor the stallion who adopted your companion will share specific details. If Equestria ever investigates too closely, they may discover you're ponies without an origin. That might persuade them to examine you magically." 

She rested one hoof on Derek's shoulder, forcing her to meet her eyes. Never mind that the very mention of the word 'magic' made Derek tense. She now had reason to believe that Iris was lying to her, after all. She would take more time to figure out about what. "If something like that starts to happen, your Witnesses will try to intervene and protect you, divine one."

"What if you can't?" she asked, feebly. "What would happen?"

"They'll find your true power hidden beneath your small size, Lilac. The same magical power that let you face down one of the Outer Ones, and live. You have the magic of many ponies together, almost an Alicorn. If a doctor reported that discovery to Princess Celestia, and we could not stop them... you would be killed, your essence banished back to where you came from." 

She let go. "I'm sorry, I know that's not something you want to think about. Your Witnesses will not let it happen if we can stop it. But it would be better for our safety and yours if you do everything you can to keep the secret hidden."

She remained silent for a few more minutes, subdued. "But I can still have Firefly over?"

"Whenever you desire," she replied.  She made it to the bedroom door, before stopping there, looking back. "Okay, there may be times where you're needed for something else. My husband may make demands, and we will both be compelled to obey. Just don't put any undue pressure on her or her guardian. Make sure they understand it is only a request."

In a world without cell phones, without even an instant messenger, it took her a few more days to make the offer and get a response. Charlie was excited about the idea of a sleepover, and hopefully a chance to make some progress hunting for magic. She tried and failed to extract more information from Risk in the meantime. Once she mentioned her plan to go as soon as she could get a friend over, he clung to that idea, and refused to talk about it any earlier.

That only meant enduring an entire week of school, a week she spent tortured in various dresses, listening to lectures about historical subjects that made no sense to her, or learning which utensils to use when she ate. And most importantly, she was assigned a remedial reading class for one hour every other day.

This was the only time she saw Charlie, since apparently it was the only time the class was actually offered. It felt a bit like being stuck into a younger sports league, with students even smaller and younger than they were. Just as she imagined from that experience, the students in their class were already far ahead of her, and rubbed it in her face at every possible opportunity. 

Let them laugh—for Derek, this was really just learning the written form of a language she already spoke. She already understood all the principles of written communication, it was just a matter of adapting them to a new language.

But a week wasn't long enough to make appreciable progress, not with an entire syllabary to memorize. She took the worksheets home and put them up in her bedroom, along with a few of the low-level children’s books she could find in the Vale library. Until Derek mastered the language, she would be at the mercy of others to tell her things. Given she didn't trust Iris anymore, she found that arrangement completely unacceptable.

The weekend finally came, and with it Charlie over for a visit. Her adoptive pony “father” walked her all the way to the gates, where Derek and one of the house servants met them. Not Iris herself—she wasn't even on the grounds, so far as Derek knew. Not even the steward. 

She had a little saddlebag with a blanket rolled up sticking from one side. There wasn't much else—it wasn't like she'd need a change of clothes. Being a pony did have some advantages.

"I'll be back tomorrow afternoon," said the stallion. He seemed nice enough, though there was something subtly off about him to Derek. "Remember sweetie, don't—"

"Don't try to fly on my own," Charlie repeated, exasperated. She opened her wings demonstratively, snapping them closed against her sides again. "I won't, promise."

"Good filly," he said. Then he looked to the servant—a random housekeeper, no one of any importance. She was only here because Derek needed somepony to open the gate for them. "She's so impatient to practice. But unless there's somepony around who can go with her, it's not safe." He lowered his voice, though it didn't work to stop them from hearing. "I know she looks like she should. She's a little underdeveloped for her age."

Charlie groaned, hiding behind Derek and glaring through the gate at him. "I said I'd keep the rules! You don't need to tell them that."

"Right, sorry." He waved with one wing. "Have fun!" He turned, but didn't walk away. Instead he took off, leaping right up into the air and angling back to town. I bet wings could let you go all over in just a few minutes. If I wasn't gonna have magic, couldn't I get those? None of this was fair.

"I, um..." Charlie began, staring directly at Derek. She turned, confused, but saw what had caught the little pony's attention. She was staring at the bandages on her back and neck. "Are you okay?"

"Now, yes," she said. "Last week was rough. I'm healing up pretty good now." She leaned forward, taking Charlie's foreleg with one of hers. "Come on! You have to see this place, it's amazing!"

She scampered up the lane, past the old fountains and hedge-maze, then through the huge double-doors into the mansion. The one following them gave up after a short distance—once they were inside, the maid probably returned to her duties. That was just fine for Derek, since she didn't want to be overheard anyway.

"You live here?" Charlie asked, indignant. She stopped in the entryway, staring up at a huge suit of pony armor. It was frozen in display, beside an oversized tapestry depicting an ancient, stern-looking stallion. "No way!"

Derek giggled. "Well I don't live down here." She tugged her up the stairs, and met far less resistance as they went. Charlie seemed far too intimidated by the vast scope of it all to wander off in any of the nearby directions. They reached her bedroom without much trouble, with Risk waiting beside it. Technically he was her personal servant for the day, without Iris around. Practically, she never asked him to do anything unless an adult was around who expected her to. 

He still opened the door for them, holding it open.

Charlie slowed just inside, watching him. "Wait a minute. I think we're in a... gym class together. You're Little Risk!"

He flicked his tail in annoyance. His mane was still unusually short, but otherwise there were no signs of their misfortune of the previous week on him. "Profound observation, Firefly. We are in class together. I can't imagine why."

"Be nice," Derek snapped. "This is my friend, Firefly. We're from the same place, Risk. We've been friends longer than you've been alive, so..."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure. Shorter, no cutie marks, but you're older? Horseapples."

"How much does he know?" Charlie asked. She circled slowly around the room, staring at everything. She seemed amazed by the size of the bed, the closet full of clothes—everything, really.

"What kind of question is that?" Risk replied. "Is there a secret I'm not being told, Lilac?"

Lots, but Iris told me not to share. Even if she did, he wouldn't believe. "Lots, but that's not why we're here. You were gonna tell us where to find some magic, remember?"

Charlie set her saddlebags down by the window. There was a second bed in here now, rolled in for the occasion. It was far smaller, the sort actually made to fit someone their age. Hopefully no servant was going without a bed for this. 

"We don't need extra help," he said. "I know how to find it. We don't need her help."

Charlie opened both wings, glaring back at him. "What are you scared of, Little Risk?"

Derek stepped between them before that argument could get started. She faced away from Charlie, glaring at Risk. "Tell us about where we're going. Is it that far away? I don't think we can get away with camping... Iris always checks on me in the evening."

He glanced at the entrance, then the door clicked shut. Something emerged from inside his vest, a little roll of paper. He unrolled it in the air in front of them, turning it so they could see. It showed a map of the grounds, though the mansion was a small square on an oversized diagram of farmhouses and access-roads. The part marked was further away from the house than the house was from Willowbrook itself. 

"There are creatures living out there in the woods—I mean, lots of things live out there. But these are supposed to have lots of magic. So long as you're friendly, they're pretty nice. My family never wants me to ever go there. It's on the map of things never to do no matter what."

"Sounds perfect," Derek said, staring at the map. It wasn't just the one area on here—it was dense with dozens of little notes. Many things were highlighted, and text was scrawled in every little opening. Pity she couldn't read any of it. "Bit of a walk. Let's grab some snacks and get going."

"Okay..." Charlie said, skeptical. "But if there's a waterfall out there and a magic spell, I'm turning around."